Political
analysts are engaged in a wild melee trying to predict the twists and
turns of Senator John McCain's political gyrations. Some say he will switch
parties, some predict another run for the presidency. Regardless of the
final outcome, certain lessons can already be learned about what happens
when a politician turns against his political base.

Consider the fact that Arizona is a hotbed of pro-gun sentiment. In past
elections, Arizona gun owners have rewarded McCain's support of gun rights
with thousands of reliable votes, yet he has recently chosen to thumb
his nose at them not once, but three times.

First he allied himself with Americans for Gun Safety, an anti-gun organization
funded by billionaire Andrew McKelvey. McCain appeared in the group's
television ads that pushed through anti-gun initiatives in Oregon and
Colorado.

He attacked the National Rifle Association with his campaign finance
reform bill that would make it illegal for organizations like the NRA
to communicate political information to their members before an election.
Federal incarceration would await violators who attempt to exercise their
first amendment rights.

Together with Senator Joe Lieberman, he sponsored a gun show bill that
would bury gun owners under a mountain of red tape and invest the Secretary
of the Treasury with unlimited power to regulate gun shows. Even inadvertent
violations would be punished with federal prison time.

Gun owners in Arizona are infuriated by their senator's transformation
into a
gun-bashing supporter of greater government power. Representatives of
some of Arizona's many gun rights groups offered their comments for this
column.

Rick DeStephens, Vice President of Brassroots, Inc., reports that a coalition
of angry gun owners is planning anti-McCain demonstrations. He also describes
a
Memorial Day speech by Arizona's other senator, Jon Kyl, in which the
mere mention of McCain garnered a chorus of boos and grumbling from the
crowd of veterans and their families.

Angel Shamaya, director of KeepAndBearArms.com wrote: "Senator John
McCain has effectively burned his bridge with gun owners in Arizona. His
jumping in bed with the billionaire-funded 'Americans for Gun Safety'
organization was the last straw".

Alan Korwin of Gunlaws.com performed a comprehensive analysis of the
McCain-Lieberman gun show bill and pointed out the many disturbing aspects.
He writes: "What makes a person turn 360 degrees like this? He has
become an anti-rights bigot, trashing the first and second amendments,
and then lying publicly about what his bills do. Which is worse -- he
doesn't know what's in his bills, or he does?"

Ken Rineer, President of the Firearms Action Committee of Tucson says:
"McCain cares about one thing and one thing only -- himself! He likes
all the attention he is getting and this is fueling him to continue, but
I think he has miscalculated. Gun owners are mad as hell! His vote against
tax cuts, coupled with his anti-free speech and anti-gun show bills, have
created quite a coalition of very unhappy constituents. My contacts report
that his staff has become hostile towards callers who complain about what
McCain is doing".

These are some of the milder comments from Arizona gun rights activists.
Others announce their anger in more rancorous terms. Words like traitor
and turncoat are commonly used to describe the wayward senator. The term
"Manchurian Candidate" is being used as an epithet to indicate
how bizarre McCain's behavior appears to Arizona gun owners who feel betrayed
by his defection.

Many journalists and politicians are afraid to criticize the powerful
senator, but gun owners have a habit of speaking their mind and are a
useful indicator of grassroots opinion. In Arizona they are not shy about
attributing his political instability to an inflated ego, a lust for higher
office, and a need for attention.

During the last presidential election, many voters admired McCain's defense
of freedom as an aviator and a POW. His attacks on the first and second
amendments are now alienating many of those supporters, especially those
with military service who swore an oath to defend the Constitution. His
self-serving antics have also made enemies of some powerful organizations
at the national level.

If McCain is considering another presidential bid, he is going about
it in a very odd way. He may be planning to replace his former backers
with new interest groups, but there is no reason for those new groups
to trust a man who has already proven to be an unreliable ally.

Dr. Michael S. Brown is an optometrist, a member of Doctors for Sensible
Gun Laws, and writes frequent commentaries about the American gun debate.

Gun
control - What went wrong? by Dr. Michael S. Brown (April 30, 2001)
Remember that big push for increased gun control not too long ago? Dr.
Michael S. Brown explains what happened to it

Gun
laws offer no protection by Dr. Michael S. Brown (January 8, 2001)
How surprising. Seven people die at the hands of an armed mad man and
the anti-gun lobby demands more gun control. What happens then? Dr.
Michael S. Brown says more people are left defenseless